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Abstract
The growing influence of technologies on all aspects of life, including the education sector, re-
quires developing countries to follow the example of the developed countries and adopt technol-
ogy in their education systems. Although relatively late, the Libyan government has eventually
responded to this challenge and started investing heavily in the reconstruction of its education
system, and initiating national programs to introduce information and communication technology
(ICT) into education. In addition, there are plans to establish virtual campuses in many universi-
ties and colleges to provide an advanced platform for learners and instructors. This paper presents
the higher education context in Libya and outlines the applications of ICT and e-learning in Lib-
yan higher education to date. It discusses the issues that need be considered and addressed in
adopting ICT in the learning and teaching processes including technological infrastructure, cur-
riculum development, cultural and language aspects, and management support. The paper also
outlines the prospects for the integration of e-learning into Libyan higher education and con-
cludes with proposing an integrated approach to advancing the introduction of e-learning in
Libya.
Keywords: developing country, e-learning, ICT teacher training, information and communication
technology, Libyan higher education, technology transfer, technological infrastructure.
Introduction
Libya has the highest literacy rate in the Arab world, and the United Nation’s Human Develop-
ment Index, which ranks standard of living, social security, health care and other factors for de-
velopment, keeps Libya at the top of all African countries. Libya has always been enthusiastic to
ensure access to appropriate education for all members of the society, males and females. Gov-
ernment reform plans to improve and develop ICT infrastructure in Libya and it seeks to develop
and renovate the entire educational process, including the development of curricula and updating
its scientific content; adopting ICT in education including higher education is an essential factor
in its overall development plans. Libya wants to play a leading role on the African continent by
promoting and sponsoring major initiatives and projects, including those in the neighboring coun-
tries of Chad, Niger, and Rwanda. However, the challenges of poor and undeveloped existing
infrastructure and a lack of skilled,
Material published as part of this publication, either on-line or qualified and ICT-savvy teachers pre-
in print, is copyrighted by the Informing Science Institute. sent a great challenge to the current re-
Permission to make digital or paper copy of part or all of these
works for personal or classroom use is granted without fee
form process (Hamdy, 2007).
provided that the copies are not made or distributed for profit Over the last twenty years, developed
or commercial advantage AND that copies 1) bear this notice
in full and 2) give the full citation on the first page. It is per-
countries and emerging economies have
missible to abstract these works so long as credit is given. To introduced ICT to enhance all their sec-
copy in all other cases or to republish or to post on a server or tors of society including the educational
to redistribute to lists requires specific permission and payment sector. This change has had a significant
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Towards E-Learning in Higher Education in Libya
ogy of teaching, and learning processes. Gerry (2005) sums up the history of ICTs in education
by explaining that the period from 1981 to the current age has seen the educational use of com-
puters developing from standalone data processors in computer labs, through to accessing the
Web, to being able to provide integrated Web services for teaching and learning, resource collec-
tions, student records, administration, professional development and community relations now.
E-Learning is an ideal learning environment using modern means of information
technology, through the effective integration of information technology and the cur-
riculum to achieve, a new learning style which can fully reflect the main role of the
students to thoroughly reform the traditional teaching structure and the essence of
education, to train large numbers of high quality personnel. (Ma, Wang, & Liang,
2008, p. 54)
E-learning has started to emerge in many developing countries where it is likely to have a huge
potential for governments in helping to meet an increasing demand for education and address the
growing decline of trained teachers (UNESCO, 2006). Higher education institutions throughout
the world are in a period of rapid change, as “Changes occurring in the primary processes of
higher education courses and degree granting are closely related to the contextual trends of vir-
tualization, internationalization, lifelong learning and customer orientation that are part of soci-
ety in general” (Collis & Moonen, 2001, p. 30). In this context, traditional universities have no
choice but to significantly alter their instructional methods to keep pace with developments
spurred by the Internet. Thus, adopting and adapting to “the technology of the 21st century” is
unavoidable for everyone in society and in particular in the educational context (Ali, 2003; Collis
& Moonen, 2005).
This paper presents the higher education context in Libya, outlines the applications of ICT and e-
learning in Libyan higher education to date, and discusses the challenges of, and prospects for,
further integration of e-learning in higher education in Libya.
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Government-funded Universities
Libya’s population of approximately 6.2 million includes around 2.7 million students; the number
of university students has increased to more than 300,000, with an extra 90,000 enrolled in the
higher technical and vocational sector. Since 1975 the number of universities has grown from two
to nine and after their introduction in 1980, the number of higher technical and vocational insti-
tutes currently stands at 84; Figure 1 illustrates the locations of higher education institutions in
Libya. The overall responsibility for all aspects of education in Libya lies with the Libyan Minis-
try for Education. The Ministry shares the responsibility with local education committees that
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Towards E-Learning in Higher Education in Libya
control the education programs within their geographical area; the Ministry controls all the com-
mittees in the country and its Higher Education Department oversees the operations of all univer-
sities in Libya.
Universities
Higher Education Institutes
Petroleum Training Institutes
Currently, there are 18 government universities in Libya; Al Fateh University and Garyounis
University are the oldest and the largest, with student populations of 115,000 and 60,000 respec-
tively. In addition to universities, there are 264 government-funded higher education institutes
that provide education in the areas of administration and management, technology, creative art,
and teacher development. Finally, another eight institutes – petroleum training and qualifying
institutes – are dedicated to the training and education of personnel for the oil industry. Five of
these institutions are located in the capital and main cities, and three of them operate in regional
areas.
Teacher Education
There are several types of teacher education in Libya including courses for pre-primary and pri-
mary/basic school teachers, secondary school teachers, and higher education teachers. Primary
school teachers are trained in three to four years in State Higher Teacher Training Institutes at
intermediate school level; a number of centres for in-service training were opened in 1995-96. A
training centre was also opened to train teachers for technical and vocational basic and intermedi-
ate levels. Secondary school teachers are trained in four years at higher education level (Faculty
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of Education). Teachers at intermediate training centres are graduates of the higher technical in-
stitutes.
MA holders can become assistant lecturers. They can be promoted to lecturer status after three
years of teaching. They are promoted to assistant professor status after having taught for four
years and submitted three theses evaluated by a scientific committee of three teaching staff mem-
bers. PhD holders are appointed as lecturers and promoted to assistant professor status after four
years of teaching. They are then promoted to joint professor status after four further years of
teaching and submission of published scientific theses evaluated by a scientific committee of
three teaching staff members. Teachers are promoted to the status of Professor after being a joint
Professor and having taught for five years and presented three published theses evaluated as
above (Clark, 2004).
Non-traditional Studies
The Libyan educational system offers possibilities for non-traditional studies. These include dis-
tance higher education and other forms of non-formal higher education. Distance education is
provided by the Open University, created in 1990. Its main centre is in Tripoli but it has opened
16 other centres around the country in Benghazi, Sebha, Ejdabia, Derna, Misurata and El-Kufra.
The number of credits needed for graduation is between 120 and 150 credit hours as per the
school year system. Curricula and teaching programs are conveyed via written and audiovisual
material (learning packages).
Non-formal studies consist of short postsecondary courses for training paramedical personnel,
and inspectors of hygiene (Hamdy, 2007).
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The drive towards the deployment of e-learning in Libya is motivated by the country’s desire to
further develop and improve its education system, especially higher education. Therefore, Libya
now is working hard to provide all universities with technological infrastructure as soon as possi-
ble. There have also been developments in the use of the new technologies in education. For ex-
ample, in 2008 Libya introduced an electronic system for submitting specialized secondary edu-
cation examinations; the project proved to be a success and the General People’s Committee of
Education aims to expand it to other educational areas. Further pilot initiatives to implement e-
learning have also started, initially in primary schools. Recently, a Libyan educational technology
solutions provider, MCIT, together with its partner, the Ireland-based Riverdeep, has developed a
successful e-Learning pilot project covering six schools in Tripoli where MCIT designed and
provided the entire IT, network and power infrastructure for the schools and supported the
systems and applications under the standards developed by Riverdeep (The General People’s
Committee of Education, 2008).
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The language barrier is a significant inhibiting factor in adopting e-learning in developing coun-
tries (particularly in Libya). The official language in Libya is Arabic and the level of English
skills is low; Arabic is absolutely different from English: the two languages have nothing in
common. However, most of the learning resources (including the all-important freeware), soft-
ware, and Web contents are in English, thus rendering them un-useable to a great majority of
Libyans and making it very difficult to integrate ICT and e-learning in the Libyan education sys-
tem.
Technological Challenges
Technology is a fundamental factor in the development of e-learning, and it refers to require-
ments such as networks, hardware, software, computers, radio, audio cassettes, video, and Inter-
net access: “The technological dimension of the e-Learning framework examines issues of tech-
nology infrastructure in e-learning environments. This includes infrastructure planning, hard-
ware and software” (Khan, 2003, p. 2). Another factor related to technology is software and in-
terface design: “The interface design refers to the overall look and feel of e-learning programs.
Interface design dimension encompasses page and site design, content design, navigation, and
usability testing” (Khan, 2003, p. 2). Thus, educational software should be easy to use and a
learning management system should support the selected learning models and pedagogies. Lastly,
adequate technical support is an important part of the implementation and integration of ICT and
e-learning in an education system (Sife et al., 2007).
Libya faces a number of challenges on the technological front. As outlined earlier in this paper,
Libya still largely lacks the required technological infrastructure; however, many infrastructure
projects are currently in progress. While computer laboratories are available in most Libyan
higher institutions, the lack of adequate network facilities places serious restrictions on Internet
access. The use of educational software within institutions is limited too, as there are very few
products on the market that are available in Arabic, and the country’s lacks the capacity to de-
velop its own products. Lastly, the technical support is almost unavailable in Libya (as the case in
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many developing countries), which leads to delays in installation, operation, and maintenance of
equipment and software, and further discourages users.
Curriculum Development
“The curriculum is becoming more dynamic and interactive as a result of the many kinds of ICT-
based learning activities, projects and software applications being developed” (UNESCO,
2005a). By using ICTs, it is possible to create several different kinds of courses, each providing
learners with a distinctive type of learning experience and each suited to different situations (Hor-
ton, 2000). Baylor and Ritchie (2002, 398 cited in Hu & Webb, 2009, p. 2) concluded that “re-
gardless of the amount of technology and its sophistication, technology will not be used unless
faculty members have the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to infuse it into the curricu-
lum.” Because e-learning is different from traditional learning, the curriculum and pedagogical
methods need to be modified and developed to employ ICT application effectively, and they
should be specifically designed to fit the e-learning setting (Andersson & Grönlund, 2009); thus,
curricula developers must be able and qualified to redesign courses according to the specific sort
of ICT and e-learning. In this respect, Libya faces a double challenge: first, Libyan higher educa-
tion curricula are standardized that is, it is prescribed and controlled nation-wide by the Ministry
for Higher Education. So, there is a need to overcome the constraints and reliance on standardized
curriculum. Second, the development of new pedagogical scenarios for e-learning sittings re-
quires willing participation of academics and considerable assistance from educational developers
with experience in e-learning; such expertise is not available in Libya yet.
Management Support
Teachers generally are more motivated and committed when they feel supported and encouraged
by the administrators (Andersson & Grönlund, 2009). According to Mapuva (2009, p. 3), “Insti-
tutional leaders are a determinant factor, given their decision-making roles which could either
make-or-break the e-learning projects by either facilitating or impeding its implementation within
their institutions.” So, administrative support can be regarded as essential to the successful adop-
tion of ICTs into the educational processes. However, administrators in Libyan institutions gener-
ally lack the ability to deal with educational problems and tend to struggle with the management
of institutional inefficiencies. Therefore, it will take some time and effort for the administrators to
come on board of e-learning; they will need to develop an understanding of the technical, finan-
cial, pedagogical, and administrative dimensions of ICTs in education.
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Technology Transfer
Recently, many traditional education systems have shifted towards new methods of teaching and
learning thanks to the proliferation of ICTs. The continuous advances in technology have led to a
greater distribution of knowledge transfer. This change is particularly significant for developing
countries which lack the infrastructure, resources and attitude to implement advanced educational
practices on their own (Iahad, Dafoulas, Milankovic-Atkinson, & Murphy, 2004). Bozeman
(2000, p. 629) defines “technology transfer” as “the movement of know-how, technical knowl-
edge, or technology from one organizational setting to another”. In the educational context, tech-
nology transfer includes the exchange of knowledge, techniques and methods of teaching and
learning between educational institutions nationally and internationally. Technology transfer to
developing countries requires particularly careful consideration (Straub, Loch & Hill, 2001); as
Klauss stated:
It is evident that both the selection of a technology and the strategy of transfer to de-
veloping countries have to be very carefully considered to ensure that an appropriate
technology is chosen, that it is effectively adopted/ adapted and institutionalized, and
that it is sustainable over time. (Klauss, 2000, p. 277)
A large number of initiatives are currently in progress in developing countries to reuse existing
technologies, which have been transferred from developed countries, to adopt e-learning and in-
tegrate ICT in their educational systems. Technology transfer has enabled many developing coun-
tries to adopt e-leaning applications, for example Web-based Learning such as WebCT and
Moodle is widely used in Egypt, whereas the Blackboard course-management system is being
used in six schools in Tripoli in Libya. Technology transfer brings many educational changes to
Libya and other developing countries in terms of Internet infrastructure and services, curriculum
development, teaching and learning resources, administration, and training for the technicians and
ICT experts at institutions. Currently, Libyan curriculum is being developed and reviewed, taking
into consideration the global changes and ICT revolution, using the assistance of UNESCO and
some developed countries.
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“The instructors stopped giving individual and group assignments to us because they
could not find the time to give face-to-face feedback. The only way of course as-
sessment is two exams per semester. Furthermore, there are no collaborations be-
tween students to interchange knowledge between each other.”
So, it is clear that Libyan students appreciate the difficulties of the Libyan education system and
are opening up to alternatives that could offer improvements. The task is to convince them that e-
learning is a viable alternative; well trained teachers with positive outlook on ICT are likely to
play a vital role in this task. However, special training is necessary to raise their awareness of ICT
and its uses; the importance of training and development have been highlighted by Schuler and
Jackson (as cited in Mapuva, 2009, p. 6) who view these as initiative tools that can be employed
to enhance the knowledge and skills necessary for work-related performance. his training will
play a dual role: it will change the attitude of educators towards ICT and e-learning and, in turn,
increase students’ interest and motivation for ICT.
Table 1: ICT usage in Libya & Egypt (The World Factbook, 2009)
Libya Egypt
Indicator
(pop. 6.5 M) (pop. 74 M)
Telephones - main lines in use (2008) 1,033,000 12,011,000
Telephones - mobile cellular (2008) 4,828,000 41,272,000
Internet users (2008) 323,000 11,414,000
Internet hosts (2009) 11,751 177,443
In Egypt, the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Cairo is setting an example with e-
learning related activities such as conversion of text books to interactive CD-ROMs and pilot pro-
jects in virtual classrooms. Also, the American University in Cairo is using WebCT as a learning
management system and offering a centre for helping the university teachers to convert their ma-
terials to web-friendly format. Furthermore, numerous e-learning projects have been launched by
a number of Egyptian government universities since 2002, these projects include initiatives at the
Cairo University, National projects such as HEEPFE, Higher Education Enhancement Project
founded by the World Bank, UNESCO endorsed open source platform for higher education,
MEDA and Tempus projects supported by European Commission Directorate General for Educa-
tion and Culture (Abdel-wahab, 2008).
In Tunisia, the e-learning team of the Higher School of Sciences and Techniques of Tunis
(ESSTT) has worked for several years on designing the first Tunisian e-learning platform called
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Waheeb; this Web-based learning platform provides a fully integrated student environment, learn-
ing management system, and a range of custom content creation and publication tools. Impor-
tantly for Libya, Waheeb can be used completely in Arabic language; of course, it also supports
other languages such as English and French (Chorfi & Jemini, 2002).
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Conclusion
This paper reflected on the higher education context in Libya and the applications of ICT and e-
learning in Libyan higher education to date; it also discussed the challenges for and prospects of
integrating ICT in higher learning institutions in Libya.
To improve the teaching and learning processes, meet the changes in the education market, and
satisfy the needs of learners and the community, higher education institutions in Libya have no
option but to move with the times and adopt e-learning. Successful initiatives and experiences in
neighboring countries can serve as a powerful example for Libyan institutions that may follow
their strategies to fulfill the potential of ICT for teaching and learning and to achieve rapid tech-
nological development. The integration of e-learning in the education system is likely to gather
speed thanks to recent decisions and commitment of the Libyan government. Access to ICT fa-
cilities is likely to be improved in the very near future in all Libyan institutions thanks to major
infrastructure projects that are currently in progress. However, there is a need for provision of
appropriate training at different levels, the development of expertise in e-learning use, and re-
search to gather data and inform future developments; these are important factors that require
substantial attention and great effort from the Libyan government to ensure the development of
adequate awareness, attitude, and motivation towards e-learning as well as suitable responses.
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Biographies
Mrs Amal Rhema is a PhD candidate in the School of Engineering
and Science at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia where she
is currently undertaking a research project entitled “An analysis of ex-
periences and perceptions of technology-based learning in higher edu-
cation institutions in Libya: informing the advancement of e-learning
through case studies”.
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